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Teaching middle schoolers how to live and practice their faith

SEVENTH WORD

“And Jesus crying with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And saying this, he gave up his spirit.” Luke 23:46

Reflection: Each year, I pick a theme song for my year, although some years there end up being two or three songs that become my theme song for the year. Last year’s theme song was “Trust in You” by Lauren Daigle. You can watch her music video here. The reason I chose this as my theme song was the words of the refrain: When you don’t move the mountains, I’m needing you to move/ When you don’t part the waters, I want to walk through/ When you don’t give the answers, as I call out to you/ I will trust, I will trust in you.

I want this kind of trust in God’s plan. The saints had it. Some of my closest friends and role models have it. I think our Pope has it. And here on the cross, we see Jesus’s humble trust in God’s plan. It’s really incredible because Jesus could have interfered with that plan in so very many ways that we as humans can’t. He could have come off the cross, dealt with all of his tormentors and sailed off in a literal cloud of glory.

But instead, he trusts. He’s given everything for us, and in this last word, he gives everything back to God. “Into your hands I commend my spirit.”

This is one of the biggest struggles of the spiritual life. Father, into your hands I commend my family. Father, into your hand I commend my friendships. Father, into your hands I commend my relationship with ______________.

Sometimes we hold so tight to these people, problems and promises because we are afraid that if we give them to the Lord, we’ll never get them back. And sometimes that is indeed the truth. God keeps those things because he knows we need something else. But sometimes giving things over to God is the best way to have them immediately returned to you, better than before.

Questions for prayer and reflection:

Do I trust God to take care of everything in my life? Why can it be scary to entrust my life to him?

What has God commended into my hands? How can I take care of these things?

Have I ever given something up only to get something better? When?

Possible activities:

Make a list of all your worries, fears and hurts. Pray to be able to give these over to the Lord. Put the list in a sealed envelope. Check in later to see what God was able to do with your trust in him.

Pick a song to represent your desire to trust in God. Use it as a theme song for your Easter season prayer.